


Ramon's Cafe

by Jenna_Nicole, MoonlightShines (Thatkillervibe)



Series: Killervibe Week 2020 [1]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/M, Fluff, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:02:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25961782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jenna_Nicole/pseuds/Jenna_Nicole, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thatkillervibe/pseuds/MoonlightShines
Summary: Caitlin looked around the café, suddenly aware of how dead everything was. Not a passing car or the distant sound of traffic. Just the soft patter of light rain on the roof. The tables were wiped down and cleared long ago, with chairs stacked over them. The only face in the room, other than the waiter, was her own reflection in the blackened window, since she was once again, the only customer.A Killervibe Coffee Shop AU
Relationships: Cisco Ramon & Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon/Caitlin Snow
Series: Killervibe Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1884334
Comments: 6
Kudos: 12
Collections: Killervibedaily Events





	Ramon's Cafe

**Author's Note:**

> Written with @Jenna_Nicole

Caitlin liked Ramon’s Café because it didn’t follow conventional hours. Not even close. And that was great because somewhere between October midterm month and Thanksgiving weekend Caitlin stopped sleeping. She would have loved to stay at home, but it seemed the older she became, the less she felt comfortable there. Her house was big, and frankly, it embarrassed her. How it stuck out like a sore thumb, how if she stayed awake all night, nobody would even notice. Because it was only her and her mother now. Which basically meant it was just her. And her mother. Living together but leading separate lives now that Caitlin was self-sufficient and there was no father to stick them together anymore. 

After a long stretch of nighttime stillness, she was startled by a fresh plate of toast, fruit, home fries and a piping hot mug of coffee that slid right under her nose. She looked up from her textbook and blinked in surprise. “I didn’t order anything.” 

The waiter shook his head. “It’s on the house.” 

Caitlin looked around the café, suddenly aware of how dead everything was. Not a passing car or the distant sound of traffic. Just the soft patter of light rain on the roof. The tables were wiped down and cleared long ago, with chairs stacked over them. The only face in the room, other than the waiter, was her own reflection in the blackened window, since she was once again, the only customer. 

“What time is it?” She asked, reluctantly setting aside her textbook to grab the perfectly golden buttered toast. 

“Four AM. Do you even sleep?” 

Caitlin looked out the window from the little alcove booth. It was raining, and so she could not make out much through the blur of raindrops against the glass pane. It didn’t matter, she knew this street by heart, and there wasn’t much to see. Anyone in their right mind wouldn’t be out now. 

Caitlin grimaced. “Do you?” 

She had seen him around here a couple of times. He must be a son or a nephew of Mrs. Ramon, the woman who runs this business, because he resembles her. Longish hair that curls just above his shoulders, brown warm eyes and a medium complexion. 

He was wearing a black apron with a cute caricature of a Watermelon in a tuxedo and a server’s tray. “Waitermelon” was embroidered underneath in a simple script. 

“Not tonight,” he replied, pointing to a stack of books next to a lamp on the dark, wiped down counter. “I’ve got a first draft due.” 

She raised an eyebrow. That could mean anything. A novelist, maybe? 

“Engineering,” he simply said, as if it would explain it all—It sort of did. He peered at her own thick books, curious. “Biology?” 

Caitlin shrugged, “Med,” she replied and took another sip of coffee. 

“Central City U?” 

The guy nodded. “Doing my masters thesis.” 

“On what?” 

“Theoretics of particle acceleration, under the guidance of Professor Wells. I’m not sure if you’ve heard of him, but he’s intending to start up a new technology institute,” he paused and made a face. “If the funding gets approved, that is. Maybe you’ve heard of it. Star Labs?” 

“I have heard of that, actually!” Caitlin was quietly impressed. The knowledge of difficulty to gain the favour of Professor Wells transcended faculties at CCU. Caitlin herself had heard of a similar experience through her mother’s acquaintance with the Rathaway’s. Apparently their son threw a hissy fit when Wells dropped him as a supervisor. 

“Really?” He hopped onto the surface of her neighbouring table. “Thinking about becoming a medical research professional?” 

Caitlin huffed out a tired laugh. “This is my last exam I need to pass before I become a resident. I think I’ve still got a long way to go.” 

“The exam is tomorrow?” 

Caitlin bit her lip, knowing she’d sound silly. “Not exactly…” 

He waited for her reply and she blushed, fiddling with her knife. 

“Let me guess,” he said. And it wasn’t condescending or judgmental or made Caitlin feel made fun of. “It’s a good five days away.” 

She nodded meekly. 

“Then I’m sure you’ve got it in the bag if you’re this devoted.” 

He was smiling at her kindly. Caitlin took another sip of her coffee. She wasn’t sure if it was the way he looked at her, or the drink making its way down her throat, but she was feeling warm inside. Then she realized he must have stopped working just to unnecessarily cook her food. She gestured to her half-finished coffee.

“Thank you. And thanks for stopping to make this.” 

“My mom talks about you sometimes, you know. She asked me to come down since I was up to wait until you were done to close shop.” 

Aha. So he is her son. 

“Mrs. Ramon is so nice,” Caitlin agreed. It must run in the family. “But really, if you want to go home just tell me to go, I’d rather not keep you up.” 

The guy shook his head, as if Caitlin being reasonable was nonsense. 

“You’re not,” he stretched out his hand. “My name is Cisco. I’d tell you my last name, but I’m afraid it’s painfully obvious.” 

She took his hand and shook it, charmed by his little joke.

“Caitlin Snow.” 

“It was nice meeting you, but I still have 4 more pages to write before my appointment with Wells in a few hours, so I’m going back to the counter.” He jumped off the table and restacked the chair. “Shout if you need anything!” 

“Sure,” she smiled shyly, waving as he stalked over to the complete opposite end of the café. Was he there all along? How many hours had he been watching her? Did she look tired? Starving? Did he really just randomly decide to open the kitchen at four AM to cook her breakfast, just because? 

She watched him crack open his Macbook and admired the way his hair fell over his face as he bent his head forward, back against the wall and feet propped up against several bar stools. Caitlin bit her lip when he glanced up a few minutes later, rolling his neck around before he caught her eye. He winked at her and Caitlin blushed, darting her eyes back down towards her plate. 

Caitlin picked up her fork and began to eat earnestly. 

She decided she didn’t care if he did watch her cry over her practice exam. He’s very cute. 

Two chapter revisions later, Cisco reached an arm over her head with a mumbled apology to flip their ‘Closed’ sign to read ‘Open’. 

Somehow he was showered and dressed and even perkier than should be possible after pulling an all-nighter spread at the cafe counter. 

“Hi there,” he said. “We’re opening up now.” 

Caitlin yawned in reply, eyelids drooping. She glanced at her watch for the time. Ten minutes till six. Oh. This was a new record, definitely. 

“So my brother Dante is coming to take over in ten minutes. Do you want me to call you an Uber or a taxi? Or walk you somewhere?” 

“Did you change clothes?” She blurted out, then smacked a hand over her mouth in mortification at her disappearance of her brain-to-mouth filter. 

“I mean—“ she stammered. “You just look—Um. Fresher?” 

No apron, no dishevelled hair, although she wasn’t complaining about that, to begin with. Still, the rolled-up sleeves to show bare arms and bright eyes was a pleasant shock to her overtired system. She couldn’t help herself from letting her gaze linger. 

Cisco chuckled. “There’s an apartment upstairs that my family uses when we’re on breaks. It’s where I used to live as a kid before the business took off and we were able to afford a house.” 

Caitlin didn’t know how to respond to that. So she gathered her books together in her bag as Cisco whisked away her empty plate and returned with a paper cup and bag of croissants. 

“For the road, miss soon-to-start her residency.” 

Caitlin dug through her purse for her wallet. “Please take my money,” she begged him. “I shouldn’t be hogging your mom’s place like this without paying.” 

Cisco batted her wallet away as Caitlin protested. “It’s fine, I promise.” 

“No, it’s not!” 

“Caitlin, I mean this in the nicest, most sincere way: You’re exhausted. You have bags the size of my embarrassing teenage emo phase eyeshadow getup, and you look like you’re about to drop dead. My mom would kill me if she finds out on the 6 o’clock news that you fell into an open manhole or something on my watch. Let me get you somewhere safe. You can pay me that way.” 

Caitlin felt timid. Usually, men who insisted on following a girl home come across as creepy, but her intuition told her Mrs. Ramon’s son was anything but. 

“Sure,” she said finally, picking up the to-go cup. She was too drowsy to argue coherently anyway. “I live in the next neighbourhood over.” 

“Great!” Cisco beamed, “let me just call Dante and we can go. I have to be back on campus before 10 AM.” He pulled out his phone for an uber and Caitlin recited her address. 

Ten minutes later, a black Saturn pulled up on the curb. Caitlin stepped in, keeping her bag close to her side. Her paper croissant bag laid in her lap as she gripped tightly onto her to-go cup. Cisco opened the door to the other side and buckled in his seat belt. Caitlin wasn’t sure why that mattered as she leaned her head back against the rest, but it did. 

Her head drifts to the side as her eyes watch the blur of familiar streets. The misty morning brightened up through the glare of the window, sunlight streaming in to dry up the aftermath of a rainy night. 

Maybe it's the nostalgia of the backseat and the early morning, but she finds herself drifting to when she was younger, stuck somewhere in between a dream and a thought. But she must have been dreaming deeper than she thought because she was seemingly unaware of the cup of coffee gradually tipping sideways in her hand, just about to spill all over her jeans. 

Two hands dart in, quickly shielding her from the dangerous, hot coffee. _Cisco_ , she remembers, sinking deeper into her seat, too exhausted to be embarrassed by her clumsiness. 

The car turned hard at a corner and her already closed eyes missed the direction that her body was tipping. She didn't even realize that she let her head land on his shoulder. 

She was blissfully unaware of the little smile that met Cisco's lips. 

After a stretch of time where tiny insignificant dreams slowed the trip, she felt unfamiliar hands touch her shoulders, softly telling her that they had arrived at her place. She stumbled toward him, wiping the sleep from her eyes to look in his direction. 

He had his eyes fixed on her house, mouth slightly agape at the size. “You live here?” 

“Yeah,” she said quietly, gathering her things. “Thanks for the ride.” 

He tore his eyes from the house, placing them on her instead. “No problem. Sleep well,” was all he said, with a warmth that Caitlin definitely needed before stepping into the cold house. 

Slowly, she dragged herself up the stairs to her bedroom. Her raincoat unceremoniously dropped to the floor, and light desperately streaming in through her curtains, she pulled them together until she was enveloped back in darkness. 

~.~ 

Butterflies fluttered in Caitlin’s stomach as she pushed on the glass door of Ramon’s Cafe. She’d just finished her exam and felt really good about it. On a whim, she bypassed the student parking lot with her car and walked down a couple of blocks until she reached her favourite study space. Maybe she’d order herself a slice of cake or claim her usual nook by the window and reward herself with a catchup of her shows on Netflix that she’d miserably lagged behind.

If running into a certain cute part-time waiter that she’d accidentally drooled on happened in the meanwhile, well that’d just be a nice coincidence.

**Author's Note:**

> There will eventually be a second chapter of this because we ran out of time!


End file.
